Nu Skin Posts Record Results

PROVO, Utah Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE: NUS) released record fourth quarter (4Q09) and fiscal year results. Quarterly revenue was $378.1 million, a 19 percent improvement over 4Q08 results; revenue was positively impacted 7 percent by foreign currency fluctuations. Earnings per share for the quarter were $0.47, a 104 percent improvement, or 31 percent excluding non-operating items impacting year-over-year comparability. Annual revenue was $1.33 billion in 2009, a 7 percent improvement over 2008 figures. Earnings per share for the year were $1.40, a 37 percent increase, or 22 percent when excluding the non-operating items.

We finished our 25th anniversary year on a high note with record revenue, a record launch of our new skin care system, and a record number of executive distributors, said Truman Hunt, president and CEO. Each region is contributing to our growth, with particularly strong double-digit gains in South Korea, the Americas, China, Southeast Asia and Europe. In fact, compared to the comparable 2008 quarter, 4Q09 revenue was up 44 percent in Europe, 36 percent in South Asia/Pacific, 35 percent in Canada, and 12 percent in both South Korea and the United States.

The companys operating margin improved to 13.8 percent, compared to 12.2 percent in the prior year. Gross margin in 4Q09 was 82.3 percent, a 60-basis-point improvement, largely attributed to sales of products with improved margins.

Among the hot product launches was the introduction of the ageLOC anti-aging skin care system, introduced as a limited-time offering with a major rollout to most markets in 1Q10. According to Hunt, the introduction is happening quicker than with past product releases to take advantage of global distributor enthusiasm. He added, We expect ageLOC to generate more sales in its first 12 months than any other product in our history. Nu Skin also plans to integrate the ageLOC platform into its nutritional line by the end of 2010, positioning the skin care and dietary supplements as synergistic formulas to address internal and external sources of aging.